Some biologists believe that the

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct86% picked this

   It is cited as evidence against the claim that the capacity for flight first developed

   Why this is right

   The biologists in the first sentence are claiming that the capacity for flight first developed in marine reptiles. The biologists in the second sentence reject this suggestion, pointing out that X and Y. We're being asked about Y, the claim that "nonmarine reptiles also have scales". Just by looking at the keywords in the 2nd sentence we can tell that X and Y are evidence for rejecting the suggestion being made in the 1st sentence. So everything here matches up.

   Skill tested: Role · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   86%
2. B

   Wrong Role3% picked this

   It is cited as evidence against the claim that the capacity for flight first developed

   We can tell that the 2nd sentence is going against the claim in the 1st sentence, because the 2nd sentence says "other biologists rightly reject this suggestion". The pronoun this indicates that we're referring to whatever suggestion was just said. Meanwhile, the hypothesis that "capacity for flight first developed in land-dwelling animals" doesn't happen until the 3rd and 4th sentences.

   3%
3. C

   Wrong Role3% picked this

   It is cited as evidence against the claim that the capacity for flight first developed

   We can tell that the 2nd sentence is going against the claim in the 1st sentence, because the 2nd sentence says "other biologists rightly reject this suggestion". The pronoun this indicates that we're referring to whatever suggestion was just said. Meanwhile, the hypothesis that "capacity for flight first developed in tree-dwelling reptiles" doesn't happen until the 3rd and 4th sentences.

   3%
4. D

   Wrong Role2% picked this

   It weakens the claim that tree-dwelling reptiles were the first kind of reptile to develop

   The 2nd sentence is only about the rejecting the claim made in the 1st sentence. The hypothesis that "capacity for flight first developed in tree-dwelling animals" doesn't happen until the 3rd and 4th sentences.

   2%
5. E

   Wrong Role6% picked this

   It corroborates the observation that some mammals without scales, such as bats, developed the

   To corroborate something is to affirm the truth of that claim, or to say something that reinforces the plausibility of that claim. If we were trying to corroborate the observation that some mammals without scales developed the capacity to fly, we would provide evidence of flying mammals that don't have scales. However, the claim we're being asked about is that nonmarine reptiles do have scales. Talking about reptiles that do have scales is in no way affirming or supporting the idea that some mammals don't have scales.

   6%